A/N: Whats up fellow readers! Sorry I haven't been updating in a while! I have been really busy because all of our teachers decided to give us new projects and tests. But I am almost on summer break and when that time comes I will have a lot more time to update! Thank you for the new reviewers and people who put me on favorite story, author, story alert, etc. Still looking for a beta reader! And now on with the story!
Chapter 6: The Beauty
"Oof," I say as I run into a mystery person that I can tell is very muscular and tall.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so so-" the person, I recognize as a boy, stops his sentence short as he steps back to take a good look at me.
"I-I am uh, um," the boy says, flabbergasted with a look of shock on his face.
"I'm so sorry whoever yo-," I say, but stop my sentence short also as I recognize who the boy is too. It's Prince Percy.
"Oh, Prince Percy. I'm sorry for running into you. I should have been watching where I was going," I say, coldness in my voice and I feel my scowl intensify.
"No, it's entirely my fault. I'm sorry. And please, call me Percy," he says with a smile. I'm shocked at his kindness, but I quickly hide it.
"Oh um, okay Pr- I mean Percy," I say, feeling a bit odd.
"And your name is?" he asks.
"Um, Annabeth. Annabeth Chase," I say, noticing that the coldness in my voice slightly gone.
"Do you happen to be sharing your room with girls named Thalia Grace, Juniper Woods, Silena Beauregard, Piper Mclean, Katie Gardner, Cass Jenson, and Vicky Sparks?" he asks.
"Yes. How did you know that?" I ask suspiciously.
"Well, two of my five advisors are two of your friend's boyfriends and two of them have a sister there too. All three of my best friends are boyfriends of three of your friends too. Other two of my advisors seemed to like the named Cass Jenson and Vicky Sparks. Travis Stoll has Katie Gardner, Jason Grace has Piper Mclean, also the brother of Thalia, Charles Beckendorf has Silena Beauregard, Grover Underwood has Juniper Woods, Nico Di Angelo has Thalia Grace, and my other two advisors, Johnny Sparks, brother of Vicky, and Jared Blake seemed to like Cass and Vicky," he says with excellent memory and I am shocked once more.
"Wow. I know all of the boys except Johnny Sparks and Jared Blake," I say calmly.
"Really? How?" he asks confusedly.
"Well, I go to high school with them," I say.
"Wait, you go to Goode High School?" he asks in shock.
"Um, yes," I respond.
"Bow ironin," he mumbles, but I don't understand.
"What was that?" I ask.
"Nothing. By the way, where are you headed?" he asks me.
"The library," I say suspiciously again.
"Oh okay. I was just in the library. I can show you there if I want," he says with another smile. For some reason, I roll my eyes at his kindness. What is the matter with me?
"Uh, sure," I say awkwardly as we start walking down the hall.
"Are you one of the girls to um, you know," he says as I see him stuff his hands out of the corner of me eye.
"I'm sorry," he says suddenly.
"What are you sorry for? You took hundreds of girls from their homes for six months and one of them will be gone from their home forever. What are you sorry for?" I say as my anger takes over me.
"Look, this wasn't my idea. My parents just told me this morning and I was angry too," he says sounding irritated.
"You could have stopped them! Do you know what it's like to be torn away from everything you? None of these girls seem to care except me!" I yell angrily as we stop in our tracks.
"Do you think I wanted to do this? I didn't want to take girls away from their homes either! My best friends' girlfriends are here! That makes me feel guilty! When I came up in front of that crowd, I didn't care about that anymore because I saw how excited all of the girls were!" he yelled back.
"Sure! Like I said, do you know what it's like to be torn away from everything you love? Your family, friends, home…" I say, feeling the tears threatening to pour out of my eyes.
"No…" he says quietly.
"I thought not!" I say and storm off to the entrance of the library. I wipe my tears and feel embarrassed. Why did I have to cry?
"Annabeth wait! I didn't mean to upset you! I'm telling you, I hate this as much as you do," he says as he grabs my arm and turns me around. I can't believe he actually followed me. He hates it…
Apparently I said that out loud because he responds to my thoughts. He puts his hands on both of my shoulders and faces me completely. I realize how tall he is compared to my 5'8 figure and his 6 foot height.
"I know I just met you, but I really am sorry. Please understand Annabeth," he says quietly and sincerely.
"I guess so Percy. It's just… never mind," I say as I wipe away the rest of my tears. He takes his hands away from my shoulders and pushes open the library door for me.
"What? You're just so attracted to my rugged good looks?" he says while striking a weird pose as we walk in.
"HA! Sure but-," I snort but I stop talking as I take a good look at the castle library. There are huge and wide bookshelves throughout the library and windows that overlook every inch of the castle, the ocean, and Atlantis.
"Oh my gods…" I mutter.
"Well this is library. It is pretty amazing," he says and smiles at me. I faintly smile back. Percy shows me around the different sections of the library and I could not hold in my excitement. When he showed me the section of architecture, I immediately grabbed some books and sat down in a plush dark blue chair in front of a chair overlooking the ocean. Every once I would look up from my book and Percy and I would talk about the weirdest things. Blue food, super heroes, horses, burgers, Chuck Norris, I know it's weird, and many other things. Eventually I quit reading and we talked fro two more hours.
"I can't believe you stuck a penny up your nose and it disappeared," I said while laughing.
"It's true! To this day I don't know where it went," he says while laughing with me.
"That's so ridiculous and weird," I say while smiling at him.
"What about you? Have you ever done anything stupid when you were younger?" he asks playfully.
"Well, when I was seven, Thalia dared me to stand upside down on my head. Of course I did. When I did it, I realized that she didn't tell for how long, so I ended up staying on my head for so long that I passed out," I say while I feel my cheeks redden.
"Oh wow. That is kind of stupid," he says.
"Whatever Percy!" I say, blushing even harder then before. I looked at my phone to check the time and I was shocked to find out that I was half an hour late to dinner.
"Oh my gods. I have to get back to the quarters! I'm late for dinner!" I say as I leap up from the comfortable chair and practically run to the door.
"Hey wait up! I'll walk you back to your room," he yells after me and then catches up to me as we walk out the library door together. We swiftly walk down the hall and turn left where we ran into each other and continue walking until we reach the door of my quarters.
"Well this is my quarters. Thanks for walking me back Percy. And thanks for apologizing," I say with a smile.
"My pleasure and you're welcome," Did he really just say my pleasure? "I hope we'll see each other soon. Here's my phone number," he says as he hands me a slip of paper with his number on it.
"Okay. I'll text you later tonight or tomorrow. Good night," I say. When I open the door, I hear all of my friends chattering away inside.
"Good night," he says. I walk in the door, shut it, and lean against it feeling a bit dazed. He was so kind. A gentleman, funny, cute… NO! Not cute! Stop thinking this way Annabeth! I am interrupted out of my thoughts as Thalia talks to me.
"Now why are you late missy?" Thalia asks me as all heads turn to me from the dining room table.
"Well, I kind of got caught up in my book," I say innocently.
"Where is your book?" she asks with a smirk Crap
"I guess I forgot it in the library," I come up with a quick response.
"Mhm," she says with a smile.
"Forget her Annabeth. Come and eat. I bet you're hungry," Vicky says kindly.
"Thanks. Where do I sit?" I ask because I can't see my own place to sit at the dining room table.
"Right here next to me," Cass says near the end of the table next to the window overlooking the sea. I seem to be sitting next to the sea a lot today.
"Okay thanks," I say as I take my seat next to Cass at the very end of the table. I look at all of the girls dinner plates and noticed that their fitted to their food choices. I then look at mine and notice that it has my favorite food, hamburgers. (A/N: I didn't know what to put. I put hamburgers because she eats them a lot in The Lightning Thief). I immediately dig in, not realizing how hungry I was. The girls are in their own conversation and I occasionally join in, but then I stop as my mind wanders to Percy.
"Hey Annabeth, are you okay? You look like you're deep in thought," Piper says to me from across the table.
"Oh um, yeah. I think I'm going to get ready for bed," I say as I rise from my chair and put my plate in the sink.
"Okay. Well, we'll see you soon," Piper says with a smile. I smile back and walk upstairs to the large bedroom. I walk up to my bed and fall down on my back, trying to sort out my feelings.
"Annabeth dear, are you all right?" says a kind voice. I look up and see Mrs. Back, the advisor from earlier this morning.
"Oh. Hi Mrs. Back. I think I'm fine," I say.
"Well you look like you're lost. Care to share with me?" Mrs. Back asks as she walks over to the side of my bed and sits down. Even though her dark brown, wavy hair is pulled up into a bun and she is wearing sweat pants, she still looks very beautiful with her sea green eyes. I realize that they are very similar to Percy's.
"Mrs. Back-," she cuts me off.
"Please, call me Brianna," she says warmly and with a smile.
"Okay. Brianna, are you married?" I say quickly. She looks at me with a surprised look on her face.
"Why do you ask that?" she asks, but not rudely.
"It was the first that came to mind. I don't mean to pry," I say with an apologetic look on my face.
"No it's all right. But yes, I am," she says with a smile.
"I would be surprised of you weren't," I say and she chuckles.
"How did you meet?" I ask.
"Well, it's a long story. Would you like me to tell you?" she asks.
"Of course," I respond.
"It all began when I was in seventh grade. Cole, my husband, was becoming very good friends with my best friend and eventually they were together. I know it's young, but that was how it was in my day. Two days after they decided to be together, Cole made a harmless joke with another one of his girl friends, but my best friend took it the wrong way. She broke up with him. My best friend also realized how rude and disrespectful he was and she knew she made the right choice with him after all.
"But, he did not let go so easily. Before school, Cole would come up our small group of friends and make small talk. The same thing would happen during breaks between our classes. Our friends were beginning to become annoyed, so whenever he came over, they would ignore him and walk away, myself included. I felt horrible when I did that though. One day, when my friends decided to leave, I made the choice of staying and talking with him. My friends looked at me like I was crazy, but I ignored them and continued to talk with him. As the months went by, we became good friends, but he was still very rude. He was never rude around me, but I was still upset with him. Eventually we entered high school and my friends warmed up to him, but still cautious. He was my best friend.
"During our senior year, I began to develop feelings for him. I began to notice how green his eyes were, his curly blonde hair, and tall height. The only problem was that he was still rude. On my seventeenth birthday, he told me that he loved me and then gave me my first kiss. It broke my heart to say this, but I knew I had to," she paused for a moment. My face in awe and I urged her to go on.
"I said that I couldn't be with someone who would not respect and treat people correctly, even if he treated me correctly. He was shocked, but told me that he would try with his all his might to treat people better. I told him that I would pay attention and I did. A week before Prom, I talked to him and told him that I was proud of how he changed and I would have loved to be with the new and improved Cole Anderson. A week later, he took me to Prom and I told him that I loved him," she paused once more, but this time with a smile on her face.
"How sweet," I said, but knew that her story was not finished.
"We stayed together throughout or college years, we both attended Stanford, and he proposed to me when I was 21. We were married a year later and it was the happiest day of my life. One year later, we had a daughter and she completed us. He has always stayed true to his promise that he would never treat people wrong and I know he always will," she said and I knew she was finished.
"That is… an amazing story. It's so romantic and inspiring," I say in awe.
"I love him with all my heart and I know he does too," she says.
"What is your daughter's name?" I ask.
"Danielle. She will be 3 this year," she says.
"That's a lovely name. By the way, how come you don't use your husband's last name?" I ask.
"I only use my maiden name when I am at the castle. Anywhere else, I go by Brianna Anderson," she says.
"Oh okay. Your story has helped me in so many ways. Thank you," I say as I give her a hug.
"How dear?" she asks.
"To not judge a book by its cover. Cole was just a boy who gave off the impression, but also showed, of being a rude person. Even though he didn't know it, he was just waiting for something to help him be the kind person he really is, and you were that something," I say.
"I have thought of that also and I believe you are right. Well Annabeth, I hear the other girls coming upstairs, so I will bid you good night," she says as she gives me a hug.
"Good night. And thank you again," I say with a smile.
"No problem," she says as she walks down the stairs and leaves.
"Hey Annabeth, what were you guys talking about?" Katie asks.
"She was just giving me some advice. It's nothing," I say as I get up from my bed.
"Hey guys, let's check our closet," Silena says as she skips off towards Juniper's desk. We all walk over and stand beside Silena as she pushes the button to our closet. What we see when the secret door opens is amazing.
"Holy crap…" Thalia says. In front of us is a very large room filled with different sections labeled with our names. Inside of out section, there are various shoe racks, a make up desk, purses, hats, and jewelry. There are also many racks hanging with clothes labeled as Princess Training, Formal, and Casual. Each section is like its very large walk in closet decorated to our preferences. All of walk over to our sections and admire our new wardrobe. My make up, jewelry, hats and shoe section are not very large, but I am glad of that. My clothes and shoes all fit my personality and I am glad to see some items from home. I grab a pair of grey shorts and a yellow t-shirt from the casual section for pajamas and walk out with everyone else except for Silena.
"Silena, come on. We have to go to bed and you can look at all of your girly stuff tomorrow morning," Thalia says as she drags Silena away from her section and out from the closet.
"Wait no! There is so much to try on! NOOOO!" she yells as the closet door closes. All of us just laugh and think of how much of a drama queen she is. I change into my pajamas and climb into bed as the other girls follow my lead.
"Good night," Juniper says and we all say good night in response. I fall asleep thinking of Brianna's story and how maybe, just maybe, Percy might be a nice guy.
"Rise and shine ladies!" says a very perky voice as it wakes me up from a very deep sleep.
"Ughhh," we all groan.
"I know you want to sleep, but up up up!" the woman says and I know that it is Aphrodite.
"Alright alright… were up… why are you so perky…" we all say as we reluctantly rise from our comfortable beds. The only one who didn't even stir was Thalia.
"Let me try and wake her up," I say, walking over to her bed.
"Thalia, it's time to get up," I say as I gently shake her. Not even a breath.
"Seriously, wake up Thals," I say, pushing her even harder, but she doesn't even move.
"Nico's dead," I say with a serious tone.
"Wow. I feel sorry for Nico. She didn't move," Piper says while laughing.
"There's bacon downstairs," I say. Still nothing.
"Man, that girl can sleep," Vicky says.
"Cass has your 'Death to Barbie' shirt," I say with a smirk but Cass's eyes widen in shock. When Thalia hears this, her eyes snap open and she says,
"SHE'S DEAD!" she yells and leaps up from her bed. Cass screams and runs away from the dangerous Thalia. Aphrodite sighs, but laughs at the funny scene.
"Thalia. Thalia! I was kidding! Cass is innocent!" I say with a smile. Thalia apologizes to Cass and mutters a string of profanities.
"Well, now that Thalia is up, breakfast is ready," Aphrodite says with a smile and motioning us to go downstairs. Breakfast was like dinner, made to our preferences. Aphrodite told us to not get dressed for the day because our first class was makeovers. Oh great.
"Follow me. The class is in the castle wardrobe and I am your teacher," Aphrodite says giddily. She leads us out our door and when we walk outside, many other groups of girls are following their own teachers to different areas of the castle. Aphrodite turned right and we followed for a very short until she stopped at a small door on her right.
"Were having a makeover class in here?" Piper asks with a confused look on her face.
"It is not what you expect dear," Aphrodite says with a smile. She opens the door and what we see inside is definitely not what we expected. There are racks and racks down a very long aisle filled with clothes organized by color, style, etc. They also tower over us and we are overwhelmed.
"Follow me over here girls," Aphrodite leading us down the long aisle and then turning to her left to reveal a brand new section of makeup and accessories. I wonder what's on the right of the clothes aisle.
"Okay ladies. You each must go and pick out your preference of makeup that you would wear normally and then come back here to where we are standing. I will then tell you if your choices are okay or not. Then, I will either add or take away makeup from your selection and then I will give you each a lesson on how to apply the makeup properly. Understood?" Aphrodite says with an excited smile.
"Yes mam," we all reply. Silena immediately runs off and starts grabbing the makeup she thinks would look good with her, but we all know that anything would look good on her. Thalia picks out the darkest makeup and starts to wander around. The rest of the girls don't take as much makeup as Thalia and Silena, but they still pick out a good amount. The only things I pick out are a pale pink lip gloss and some mascara that I normally wouldn't wear. We all wander back to where Aphrodite is waiting and the only girl missing is Silena.
"While we are waiting, I will get started with Thalia. Take a seat over here," Aphrodite gestures to a chair in front a mirror that we did not see before.
"Now, your selection is a little dark. Try this and some of…" Aphrodite goes on and tells Thalia about her flawless complexion and eyes and she shouldn't cover it with all of her dark makeup etc. This was how it went with every one of us and every time one of us girls finished with Aphrodite, they all looked even more beautiful than they already were. Silena came back right before it was my turn to go and her arms were full of makeup. After Silena went, I was the last girl that had to go and I plopped down in the chair.
"This is all you chose?" Aphrodite asks.
"I don't normally wear makeup. I hate the feeling of gunk all over my face," I say.
"Well, I must say Annabeth you most definitely don't need it. Although, there are a few things I would consider adding, but it is not a lot. Let me apply your lip gloss and mascara first," she says. When she finished, I look like I would normally for a day at school.
"Alright. You look lovely, but see how your eyes seemed to be covered by the mascara? Now, if you add a small amount of eyeliner, your grey eyes pop. Also, add a small amount of light pink blush, and your cheekbones are more noticeable. See? You look beautiful," Aphrodite says while I look at myself in the mirror. She was right, with the eyeliner and blush, my eyes and cheekbones are more noticeable. It wasn't even uncomfortable.
"Wow. Thank you," I say in a small voice.
"No problem. We will now do the same thing we did with the makeup, but with clothes instead," Aphrodite says as we walk over to the clothes area. The same thing happens with the makeup and we all look even more beautiful as we walk out of the castle wardrobe and to our next class. Maybe my time here won't be so bad after all.
A/N: Finally finished this chapter! Longest one so far! Well I hoped you liked it. I will be updating soon. Review! Happy reading!